Pages

Saturday, 1 October 2011

VFS: Are you enjoying Paris?
Drew: It is being a great experince. so yes.

VFS: What do you expect from Paris?
Drew: Meeting some new, great and fresh stores to sell our new luxury leisure collection.

VFS: What is the concept behind this collection?
Drew: It is a mix of separate pieces with couture. And to be able to wear your maxi pieces with flats in some occasions.

VFS: Are you getting inspired by others designers of the showroom?
Drew: The showroom is brilliantly curated. The selection of collections is brilliant and the designers are fantastic it is like a family. As well the stores that have visited the showroom were really excited for the selection and they spend more time than they expected.

VFS: What stores are you aiming to be selling to?
Drew: We have an untouched area, which is Far East and I would love some of our pieces getting there.

VFS: Which one have been the season highlights so far?
Drew: Our collaboration with Rolls Royce (click here to see the video) Introducing the brand to Jennifer Lopez, last September, and the reaction of the people at the cocktails we hosted.

VFS: What is your favorite thing to do at Paris?
Drew: I am really expecting Nuit Blanche.

VFS: Amazingly hot weather, the city itself, the food, meeting great peo.... sorry i am doing the interview...What are your expectations for this season in Paris?
D.L: Meeting great buyers from interesting shops, and key media and crabbing to hear about Maud going to the fashion show and her fabulous live.

VFS: What is the concept behind you SS12 collection?
D.L: Every season i write a story which then is the concept. this season a girlfriend takes her boyfriend to the seaside, while being on a boat, she has a flashback and accidentally hits her boyfriend with the oar. She decides to burry him near the coast. Since then she decides to wear a flower to remember him.

VFS: Are you getting inspired by other designers in the showroom? Fabrics, techniques...?
D.L: Sincerely, I am not, as it might end being a copy.

VFS: At what stores are you aiming to be selling at?
D.L: To those ones I am already selling my collections to, as they already know my work and they like it, as an example Harrods. But also targeting new markets. Actually one Chinese store visited the Showroom today and showed interest about my collection

VFS: What have been the highlights of the season so far?
D.L: While being at London, getting Harrods to buy my collection again, while being at Paris, meeting Sara Maino from Vogue Italia and making the contact with the Chinese store.

VFS: What are your favorite things to do in Paris?
D.L: The day we settled down the exhibition was quite fun, also attending Hussein Chalayan exhibition has been a big higlight. But I must confess that macaroons and bread are becoming my hits list.

VFS: By the way, has Maud told you about her time in Paris?
D.L: Absolutely yes, she has been busy attending fashion shows and accessing backstage to interview designers after their show and g¡congratulate them. Also she has attended exhibitions and the most fabulous parties in the city. Also there are some rumors that, possibly, she might be taking over a big fashion house: She has been spotted coming out off the headquarters of a famous french conglomerate starting with L... but just rommors. If that gets to happen, it will shake the fashion industry.

Maud, spotted coming out from a brig french conglomerate for an important business.

She wrote her impressions from her third day in Paris Fashion Week. Reviewing 9 of our designers in her section Vogue Talents, a selection of moments, images, projects and styles, curated. Exclusively for the readers of Vogue.it, the visual story of the Vogue Italia's Senior Fashion and Talents Editor week in the Paris Fashion Week. Our designers and Roland Mouret show, AF Vandervost and Hussein Chalayan, are her impressions highlight for day 3.

3rd day at Vauxhall Fashion Scout Paris Showroom, the weather is still great, and Paris keeps surprising us. While being here, we heard about our friend and alumni Hermione De Paula, who has stablished her showroom at Paris to present her latest collection entitled ‘Darlingtonia’s Obsession’ S/S12

Hermione de Paula S/S12 tells the story of a twisted English flower - Darlingtonia, who rejoices in her seductive powers, much like the tropical carnivorous plant from which she takes her name. The collection explores wild erotic gardens and notions of artificial beauty and forced femininity.

Hermione centres her inspiration each season on an unconventional female character and each of the pieces possess a sensual magnetism that appears in accordance to the new muse.

Darlingtonia’s obsession is a tale of true love that has faded - many of the prints centre around exotic flowers on first glance, when inspected more closely are in fact comprised of birds, who are in fact entwined in gardens of weeds exploring the idea of entrapment in love. Inspiration came from exotic birds who garnish their nests with colourful baubles and eclectic objects they have found, in order to seduce and attract a mate. The jewel like palette mimics these colourful troves, and plays with the idea of creating a façade of beauty with decoration.

But those are not all the news, Andy Bumpus, one of our Fashion Week illustrators did a notebook collaboration with Hermione De Paula, which is being sold at The Shop at Bluebird.

It marks the launch of Hermione De Paula's
A/W11 collection at The Shop at Bluebird. Andy commented: "I collaborated with Hermione
on range of exclusive notebooks to match the collection". The original drawings have been worked
into an installation that partners the collection in store.

Friday, 30 September 2011

Look forward to a season of nail colour come Spring Summer 2012, as vivid hues take centre stage. Last week, London had something of an affair with nails, as riotous colour and in-your-face brights replaced Winters obsession with gritty metallics. At Sado, natural-look nails came with multi-coloured tips, in a vibrant rethink of the classic French manicure, while at Dans La Vie peach bases were lifted with vibrant silver tips.

“Finally, bright colour is back for nails”, nail artist Myrdith Leon McCormack confirmed backstage at VFS. She’d just arrived from New York, having worked on the nails for designers including Vera Wang, Nicole Farhi and Donna Karan (more commonly famed for an understated approach to beauty) “Nails have always been an important accessory, but for a while it got really boring – clear, nudes, sheers,” she continued. “But I think that icons like Beyonce and Lady Gaga have really challenged this over the last few seasons.” And according to Myrdith, it’s not necessary to match your nails and toes. “I never bother! I like to keep my toes more neutral, and experiment with my hands. I’ve been known to change the colour on a day-to-day basis!”

If statement nails are de rigueur, you can’t get much more loud-and-proud than Minx, whose distinctive reflective pharohs gold finish was spotted on the catwalk at Ziad Gahnam, Deng Ho and FAD. “Deng Ho had originally planned red nails, but the gold just made perfect sense – and coordinated with his incredible gold shoes,” nail stylist Pebbles Aikens explained. “It was the no dry-concept and the flawless finish that got everyone intruiged,” Myrdith continued. “They work so well on the catwalk because they’re so dramatic!”

Metallics also made a big splash backstage (head make-up artist Lan Nguyen opted for the silver finish “everyone, and I mean everyone, has commented on them!” she laughed). The easy to use no dry concept allows a flawless finish (ideal for those who always end up with messy manicures!), and this season brand have added a range of prints and patterns to their signature reflective metallics – so pick and choose to suit your mood and style.

Thursday, 29 September 2011

Vauxhall Fashion Scout has arrived in Paris! Our designer showroom launched today for the start of Paris Fashion Week with an exclusive selection of 17 of the most innovative new talents, some of which were not shown at our London event. Opening today until Tuesday 4th October, The Fashion Scout Paris Showroom is located in the heart of Le Marais, one of the trendiest areas in Paris.

Wednesday, 28 September 2011

Georgia Hardinge’s
geometric minimalism was complemented by an assured and grown-up beauty look,
created by head make-up artist Lan Nguyen. Using minimal colour, rustic nudes
and gold tones – a staple summer beauty look – Lan highlighted and contoured to
achieve a youthful and dewy look. “Georgia wanted a slight shine, but not
overstated make-up, so in this look we’ve played with a lot of the skin
products” Lan explained before the show. When creating this look, multi-purpose
products were key - “We’ve found that The Body Shop products are really
versatile, and the colours can blend anywhere – you can use them on lip,
cheeks, eyes.”

First, skin was
prepped with primer. “I’d recommend The Body Shop’s Skin Primer. It stops the
shine, and fills in the pores and lines,” Lan explained, as she brushed it into
a model’s skin. Primer is a great base for longer lasting foundation, and
allows it to be spread evenly, meaning you need to use a lot less powder. “I tend
to use primer a lot during shows - as there’s no need to apply powder the skin
looks fresher and gives a perfect dewy look. This has been a key product
backstage this season.”

The primer is followed
with a mix of foundations. To create a catwalk-ready look, Lan and her team
mixed The Body Shop’s Moisture Foundation and Mineral Liquid Foundation
together to create a flawless coverage. It’s unlikely that one foundation will
be a perfect match for your skin tone and type, and mixing two often offers the
best results. The lighter tones work best when applied with a brush, creating
highlights and contours across the cheekbones, and giving a great lift to your
face.

Next, a pearl
shimmering highlighter was blended above the bone, reinforcing the dewy finish.
“The Radiant Highlighter has proved to be really
popular all week, especially on the catwalk. It sits on the skin really nicely
– often dewy products wear away quite quickly – but this Body Shop one stays
put” Lan revealed. Highlighter is also a great cheat for blemish prone skin, as
the subtle finish allows the face to reflect the light.

On the cheeks a dusting of mineralise blush was used
just by the start of the apple and blended to the hairline - “ the two tones in
this product gives a dimensional, easy contour

In an example of
mix-and-match products, lipstick is used as a cream base for natural skin
contouring on the eyes, (try The Body Shop’s Colourglide Lip Colour No 68 –
Starlit Copper). On top of the eyelids
softer shades from The Body Shop’s Shimmer Cube Palettes were mixed, the darker
colours layered for a more intense depth closer to the lashes and blended off.
“All of The Body Shop’s cubes are made with complementary colours that work
well together when mixed. The light and dark can be also used for contouring.
As they are stronger in pigment, they can be blended very easily.”

To bring the look up
to date, clear mascara was brushed through the lashes - “we want the lashes to
stick together with a high gloss –this just emphasises the wet look,” Lan
says. The wet look tones were exacerbated by a dab of lip balm oil, placed over
the top of the centre of the eyelids and all over underneath to bring out the
gold tones in the eyeshadow.

Eyebrows were brushed
through with clear mascara so the hairs sat in one direction upwards. Then a
light foundation and concealer was brushed through with a mascara wand to
slightly blend the brows into the skin - a more subtle way of giving the
bleached brow effect. To finish, lips were faded with foundation then lifted
with Starlit Copper lipstick, pressed in with warm fingers.

Tuesday, 27 September 2011

She can make up a face in less than six minutes (and that’s including smoky eyes). Her secret? “I know what the products do, what they mean, how to put them on. It’s like painting by numbers”. So when Lan Nguyen, head make-up artist backstage at VFS, gives out tips for speedy morning rituals, I’d advise you to listen up. Here, she shares

her Spring Summer 2012 make-up bag essentials from The Body Shop and explains how to get the best from each product.

Radiant Highlighter – This has been so popular backstage. It gives a really dewy look with very little effort, and works across a range of skin tones. You can use it all over your face for a really fresh and pearlescent look, and it creates a really natural shadow with a need for bronzing and cheek colours.

Liquid Eyeliner – This has a really soft and blendable brush, which means that you can create a whole smoky eye with one product. It’s easy to draw with, and easy to clean off as well. This is one of the secret Body Shop products that no one knows about. I’ve been using it since I was 11, but I discovered it for myself!

Eye Shimmer – This works really well in conjunction with the Liquid Liner. They change colour as you blend them in, and become almost metallic. If you work really quickly with them you can create an incredible range of tones and effects. We actually used the Eye Shimmers to create the make-up looks for A La Disposition, and it looked really strong on the catwalk.

Lightening Touch – Put a few dots around your eye and blend in with a brush. The colours are very good – not too pink, not too yellow. It works really well from day to day, as it treats skin really softly.

Extra Virgin Minerals Compact Foundation – This works really well for evening, as it gives a slightly more coverage but still glides onto the skin. The Virgin Minerals range contains extra virgin olive oil so offers a professional matte finish. If you have slightly more porous skin, this work really well in conjunction with a primer.

Baked-To-Last Blush – These are two tone, the peach gives a little more of a kick. It’s all about how you use your brush with this product – lay it across the top so you get the subtle light dark effect contoured onto your skin. It makes the make-up process so much quicker.

Honey Bronze Shimmering Dry Oil – A fairly new product that’s been getting a lot of attention. It just adds a subtle tint and a hint of shimmer, isn’t too heavy and doesn’t rub off on your clothes (always important at the shows!) It’s a great alternative to bronzer, and can be used on the face and the body.

Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder – This doesn’t contain any glitter, so has a delicate but matte finish and blends into your natural skin tone. We’ve also been using this backstage for contouring on the face.

Natural Lip Roll On – Rollerball application that’s great for using over lipstick. Keeps lips soft and is made with all natural ingredients. I’d recommend this for Winter too!

Monday, 26 September 2011

How did you get into fashion?I'm from Denmark, in the middle of the countryside. My Dad is a farmer so I kind of used to be quite a tomboy and help him around the farm and then, I went to London on holiday once and really liked it so after I finished secondary school I went to London for six months originally and didn't really know what I was going to do - I ended up staying and I've been here for six years. I realised after a while that I quite liked styling, which then took me into design because I thought design was more challenging.

Did you do your art foundation in London?

I did a foundation at LCF, originally I wanted to do the styling pathway but then got into the design pathway, which I found a lot more interesting, a lot more challenging and something I didn't know too much of but I found it quite natural. Looking back and thinking; I have always done sewing in school and taking sewing classes as well.What do you class as your greatest achievement so far?

I think it's the show last night probably, it's what you dream of. I dream of having my own label, obviously I have working other places but it's not the same working for someone else; it's your own, it's completely different.What is your favourite part of what you do?

Just being able to do exactly what I want to do...everything is down to me, and I'm quite controlling, I like to know what's going on. I've literally touched everything that goes anywhere, I've done everything from the sewing, to the pattern, to the fitting, to the toile and then I cut out the fabrics as well.

What does your working day look like?

I normally get up at 8 o clock, have breakfast, check my emails start working straight away, lately I've been work til midnight 1 o'clock [AM], and obviously, because there's just been a show I've been up to 3.30 in the morning...But it's fine, my studio is the same place where I live so it's a bit easier that way but it's the job.

Do you have any advice for young designers starting out?

What I did at university was just work as individually as possible and just instead of asking all the time it's better to just do something and figure out if it's not right then you figure out what the mistake is then from that you learn and learn and learn.

I really wanted to work with structured textiles. I focused
on materials and I really wanted to develop something that was quite fleshy and
heavy, a bit more raw compared to the textures I worked with on my last
collection, so trying to move myself forward.

When it comes to your designs, how do you work? What are
your processes?

This collection is mainly made up of smock surfaces. I
pulled the surfaces of the fabric together to give it a 3 dimensional form,
which looks a little bit like pleating. I have left the threads that I used to
stitch the surfaces together hanging from the inside, so its quite a raw
version of smocking. Generally you would prefer to work into the surface but I
really liked the idea of leaving it hanging.

What has been your highlight of exhibiting at VFS this week?

It has definitely been the show, it was really exciting and
I had an amazing time. My clothes looked good and it was just really nice to
have my first show here with really beautiful girls and all my friends and
family came. I loved it!

What is next for you?

Sleeping! Lots of sleeping!! I’m going to pack the
exhibition up, go back to the studio and have some meetings, and so on. Then
hopefully go home to see my family for a bit because I haven’t seen them for
ages. I also currently have my work on show in an exhibition
called British-ish at the Victoria and Albert museum, as part of the London
Design Festival.

"I’m mainly more
of a designer, but my illustrations and drawings influence my designs, and are
a big part of my research process. I’ll gather images and draw from then, then
I’ll take it onto fabric. I teach illustration, and it’s always something I’m
trying to move into." Helen showcased a varitey of her colourful pieces the VFS Exhibiton last week.